


the map that leads me home to you

by earlymorningechoes



Series: esther hawke: ringing joyful and triumphant [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Friendship, Homecoming, Kirkwall (Dragon Age), Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 21:20:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10907679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlymorningechoes/pseuds/earlymorningechoes
Summary: Merrill and Varric fall into a routine to keep each other going when they're the only ones left in Kirkwall after the Inquisition. But Esther has a surprise up her sleeve.





	the map that leads me home to you

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted to [tumblr](http://nightingaleseeking.tumblr.com/post/160672525737/the-map-that-leads-me-home-to-you).

_ 9:43 Dragon _

    Merrill's not a healer, she never has been, but she still helps in the alienage’s new clinic when she can, as most of the elven mages do. It's loud and bustling, just like most of the city is with Varric in charge, and she revels in seeing mages around the city and not trapped in the Circle, elves and humans of all kinds pitching in next to each other to repair the damage of the past. It's Kirkwall through and through, but new and exciting all over again, and she finds she doesn't want to be anywhere else. 

    Except that Esther - Hawke, everyone else still just calls her Hawke, or Champion if they're trying to annoy her - isn't there. She sends letters, now that she's gotten out of Weisshaupt, but letters are few and far between as the whole world tries to sort itself out. It's been nearly a month since her last one, and Merrill can tell that Varric is also on edge whenever he comes down to visit, both of them waiting for news. 

    So they both keep busy, Varric in the Keep and Merrill in the alienage, the only two of their merry band of misfits who've come back to the city, taking turns to keep each other company when they can. Today she's running errands, fetching and carrying for the healers and weaving extra protective spells when necessary, and she doesn't notice Varric come in until his voice booms out across the room. “Daisy! What's a dwarf to do to get a little notice in here?”

    She nearly drops the bundle of elfroot she's holding as she turns to him with a grin. “Varric! You didn't tell me you were coming down today!”

    He shrugs, giving her a conspiratorial wink. “Well, somehow Bran’s copy of my calendar seems to have been misplaced, so there's no reason for him to stand around behind me and tell me I'm missing the most important meeting of my life.” He glances around the room, tension visibly leaving his shoulders as he takes in the hustle and bustle of the clinic’s main hall. Most people working nearby ignore him, having seen him come in with Merrill plenty of times, but there's always a few newcomers, patients and workers alike, who stop and stare for a moment when they realize that the viscount is standing in the doorway. 

    “Varric!” calls a healer, and he gives her a grateful look for dispensing with his title. He makes his way over to her, leaving Merrill to her elfroot, and she watches for a moment as he sets up to entertain some of the children before hurrying over to hand off her bundle. 

    They fall into a steady, familiar routine, Merrill helping out wherever an extra pair of hands is needed and Varric entertaining patients and exhausted healers and the occasional bored passerby. The day rolls past quickly, and the sun dips into the spaces between crowded Lowtown buildings, shining directly into the doorway in a way that makes Merrill squint no matter where she's looking. When it finally dims enough for her to see properly, a hush falls over the clinic, but she ignores it and keeps poking through the as-yet-unlabeled herb cabinet to find what she's been asked for. 

    A hand brushes her elbow, and she jumps before realizing who it is. “Varric! I know you probably won't have, but have you seen the…” She looks up at him, surprised that he's also quiet, but he just shakes his head and points at the doorway. Following his gaze, she finds there's someone standing there, silhouetted against the setting sun - a human woman, in raggedy traveling clothes with a staff strapped to her back, black hair tied away from her face in a messy ponytail. 

_     Esther.  _

    “Oh,” Merrill manages to gasp out, and then she's running, trying not to trip on anything as everyone jumps out of her way. She slams into Esther with such force that the taller woman staggers backwards, her arms wrapping around Merrill to hold them both upright and as a promise. 

    “I've missed you,” she says, and her voice is so sweet in Merrill's ears that tears well in her eyes. It's going to take too long to get her voice under control, so instead of trying to talk she just wraps her arms tightly around her girlfriend and squeezes. They stand that way, tied up in each other, for so long that Merrill isn't sure it's been minutes or hours. 

    It is, of course, Varric’s voice that breaks the moment. “Really, Shorebird, no hug for me?” He sidles up next to them, completing their pretty picture - dwarf, elf, and absurdly tall human - and Esther's musical laugh rings out as she disentangles one arm from Merrill and clasps hands with Varric. 

    “Good to see you too, Varric,” she says, and he nods in agreement, turning his face away so quickly that Merrill thinks he must be trying to hide his own tears. 

    “Hanged Man, then?” he asks, once he's back to normal. Esther grins, her whole face lighting up in a way Merrill hasn't seen in far too long. 

    “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”


End file.
